Park Chung-hee
President of South Korea
Died when: 61 years 346 days (743 months)Star Sign: Scorpio
Park Chung-hee (Korean: 박정희, IPA: [pʰak̚ t͡ɕʌŋ hi]; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 to 1963, then as the third President of South Korea from 1963 to 1979.
Before his presidency, he was the second-highest ranking officer in the South Korean army and came to power after leading a military coup in 1961, which brought an end to the interim government of the Second Republic.
After serving for two years as chairman of the military junta, he was elected president in 1963, ushering in the Third Republic.
During his rule, Park began a series of economic reforms that eventually led to rapid economic growth and industrialization, now known as the Miracle on the Han River, giving South Korea one of the fastest growing national economies during the 1960s and 1970s, albeit with costs to economic inequality and labor rights.
This era also saw the formation of chaebols, family companies supported by the state similar to the Japanese zaibatsu, with prominent examples including Hyundai, LG, and Samsung that remain dominant and influential in the country today.
Although popular during the 1960s, Park's popularity started to plateau by the 1970s, with closer than expected victories during the 1971 presidential election and the subsequent legislative elections.
In 1972, Park declared martial law and introduced the highly authoritarian Yushin Constitution, ushering in the Fourth Republic.Political opposition and dissent was now constantly repressed and Park had complete control of the military, and much control over the media and expressions of art.
In 1979, Park was assassinated by close friend Kim Jae-gyu, director of the KCIA, following the Bu-Ma student demonstrations.Whether the assassination was spontaneous or premeditated is something that remains unclear to this day.
Economic growth continued in spite of the 1979 coup d'état and considerable political turmoil in the wake of his assassination.
The country eventually democratized in 1987.Generally regarded as an authoritarian dictator, Park is a controversial figure in modern South Korean political discourse and among the South Korean populace in general, making a detached evaluation of his tenure difficult.
While some credit him for sustaining economic growth, which reshaped and modernized South Korea, others criticize his authoritarian way of ruling the country (especially after 1971) and for prioritizing economic growth and social order at the expense of civil liberties and human rights.
A Gallup Korea poll in October 2021 showed Park, Kim Dae-jung (an old opponent of Park that he tried to have executed), and Roh Moo-hyun as the most highly rated presidents of South Korean history in terms of leaving a positive legacy, especially among right-wing conservatives and the elderly.
Park's eldest daughter Park Geun-hye later served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until she was impeached and convicted of various corruption charges in 2017.
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